The Flower Show
by patsan
Summary: "She slid away from the crowd as quietly as she could, and made her way to the door, her head high, smiling charmingly at those greeting her, till she finally reached the exit and walked out into the sun. Matthew had moved away, but he was alone now, so she took a deep breath and walked up to him." [S1E05 missing moment]


Hi there, lovely MM fans and happy Monday!

Are you ready to revisit the sweet torture of S1? I hope so, because I have two stories for you! This one is the first. It already appeared on Tumblr as the first ficlet of my "weekend prompt fest" a whole weekend in which I accepted all sorts of MM prompts, and I'm slowly working my way through them all. I think most of them will appear there too as I write them, because apparently I can't seem to keep the word count to a minimum, lol, so prepare yourself for the coming spam :P

Anyway, this ficlet was written for and is dedicated to **Ultrahotpink**, who asked _"After Matthew's rebuff at the flower show Mary manages to catch him alone and tries to convince him that she's not as horrible as he thinks."_

Here's my take on it. Hope you enjoy :)

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**Flower Show**

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"And the Gratham Cup goes too…"

Mary pursed her lips as she waited for the obvious result to be announced.

She gazed over at Cousin Isobel, a few steps away from her, an expectant look on her face as she watched the Dowager Countess pause before speaking the name of the winner.

Mary arched her eyebrows.

If Cousin Isobel thought Granny would give up her prize in the name of fairness then she was in for a very big disappointment.

She lowered her eyes as she remembered who'd said similar words to her only a few days ago.

He was standing beside his mother, waiting, like the others, when Granny finally spoke and to everyone's surprise she announced that the winner for the Best Bloom in the Village was…

"Mr. William Moseley… for his Comtesse Cabarrus rose."

Mary's eyes shot up to her Granny standing on the platform, who was smiling benevolently down at the old man in question.

Stunned silence feel over the crowd, until Cousin Isobel's enthusiastic "Bravo, well done!" seemed to shake the surprise away, and a heartfelt applause exploded into the room.

"Bravo!" Cousin Isobel shouted again, and Mary's felt a small smile curve her lips, because old Moseley definitely deserved to win, and for once her Granny had made the world a fairer place.

Inevitably, her eyes sought out Matthew, and she was shocked to see he was watching her.

He was smiling, but his gaze quickly left her, and he turned his attention on the new winner, congratulating him warmly for his success.

Mary swallowed, looking down, trying to compose herself and the mad beating of her own heart.

She stayed like this till her mother nudged her toward Mr. Moseley to congratulate him as it was convenient and she welcomed the distraction, bestowing her compliments on the man's flowers with great pleasure.

"Thank you, m'lady," Mr. Moseley said gratefully, bowing his head respectfully, and Mary smiled, for it seemed it had taken so little to make the man so happy.

She breathed as she moved a few paces away so that Sybil could have her turn, and lifted her head looking around the crowd, but it seemed that the one person she was looking for was nowhere to be found.

She sighed dejectedly, then scolded herself for doing so, but she couldn't keep her eyes from wandering around, nor stop the little bout of relief she felt when she finally saw him through one of the large windows, standing just outside the Village Hall talking with some of the villagers.

She slid away from the crowd as quietly as she could, and made her way to the door, her head held high, smiling charmingly at those greeting her, till she finally reached the exit and walked out into the sun.

Matthew had moved away, but he was alone now, so she took a deep breath and walked up to him.

He turned, surprise soon giving way to wariness in his expression.

Mary didn't let that faze her.

"That was unexpected," she started, smiling as warmly as she could.

Matthew smiled carefully back.

"It was generous of Cousin Violet to let that happen."

"And not an easy sacrifice either, I can assure you."

Matthew nodded, his smile becoming more natural somehow, more open.

Mary felt as she could let go of the breath she'd been holding the whole morning.

"It was a brave thing to do," Matthew commented. "It made an old man happy and for something he was completely deserving of."

"Indeed," Mary agreed simply, and lowered her eyes for a moment before meeting his again. "It's not every day that good people get what they deserve. Today is a day to celebrate."

Matthew didn't speak for some time, watching her with a serious expression on his face.

His eyes seemed even brighter than usual in the sun, but they were unreadable to her.

"Cousin Mary-" he started.

"Matthew," she interrupted him, holding up her hand. Her fingers curled in half a fist, before she forced herself to relax, and her arm fell down, resting at her side. "I'm afraid I have not given you enough reason to believe that, but I think life it too often unfair not to try to make it right from time to time."

She sighed quietly, looking away as she remembered her mother's words from the night before.

"Mama, the world is changing," she'd protested.

"Not that much. And not fast enough for you," had been her mother's response.

And she was right.

She was damaged good.

And she will always be that.

It wasn't because of the danger of her reputation she was seeking out Matthew now.

She knew what her parents wanted.

She knew he could be the answer to all her problems.

She knew she had some sort of power over him, and she did think she could turn him around if she really wanted to, but… would it be right to do so?

Did she want to do so?

She looked back at Matthew, who was still watching her in silence, waiting for her next words, maybe somehow understanding what she herself didn't know how to say.

Mary smiled a little, and extended her hand to him.

"I'd like us to start over, Cousin Matthew," she said softly.

She waited, eyes never leaving his, trying to keep her arm and hand as steady as she could while she let him decide where would they go from there.

She would accept his rebuff if it was to come, but she couldn't help but hope for a different outcome.

It was then that Matthew smiled at her, that small half smile he sometimes did, when a corner of his mouth turned up as he seemed to consider something and decide it was good.

He extended his arm and took her hand in his, his warm skin touching hers through her lace glove.

He watched her intently, and nodded.

"I'd like that as well," he said, squeezing her hand slightly.

He let go then, and Mary closed her fingers as she lowered her hand, her skin still tingling from the contact.

She didn't stop to ponder what this could mean.

She didn't want to think about that, not now.

Matthew's smile had became wider, and she smiled back at him with the same ease, and when he curtsied and left this time she was still smiling, something warm and comfortable settling in her heart.

She turned to head back inside, and noticed that Edith had been watching them.

It served her well, Mary thought, and she wondered briefly if she should go and rub yet another victory in her face.

But then she felt the memory of Matthew's fingers on hers, and for some reason that didn't seem so appealing as it had been before. So she ignored Edith and walked back inside and up to Sybil's side.

"Why are you smiling?" her youngest sister asked.

"No reason in particular. But it's been a lovely morning, don't you agree?"

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**The End**

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_Ah, sweet, lovely S1, how do I miss you._

_I you have some time, I'd like to know what you think. Pretty please with straberries on top?_

_Till next time :)_


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